CHRONOLOGICAL INSIGHTS, CULTURAL CHANGE, AND RESOURCE EXPLOITATION ON THE WEST COAST OF SWEDEN DURING THE LATE PALAEOLITHIC/EARLY MESOLITHIC TRANSITION

Abstract

Summary In this paper, we attempt to shed light on a probable cause of cultural change via a new avenue of approach. In brief, the paper represents a micro‐study that addresses the Ahrensburgian culture group during the close of the Late Palaeolithic in north central Europe, and its relationship to the Hensbacka group found in central Bohuslän on the coast of western Sweden. Although we do not disagree that environmental conditions are a ‘prime mover’ of cultural change, we hold that it is not the only ‘mover’. In addition, we also discuss the distinct possibility that the term ‘microlithization’ cannot be used as a synonym for the Mesolithic. The foundation of our micro‐study is based on interdisciplinary concepts from the fields of archaeology, economic anthropology, geosciences, and marine zoology.